Knife sharpener



M. J. ZIMMER KNIFE SHARPENER Jan. 9, 1940.

Filed Dec. 31, 1957 I INVENTOR. B Myron J. Zimmer ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 9, 1940 KNIFE SHARPENER Myron J. Zimmer, Chicago, Ill., assignor to The Edwardv Katzinger Company,

corporation of Illinois Chicago, 111., a M

Application December 31, 1937, Serial No. 182,841

4 Claims.

This invention relates to knife sharpeners of the type incorporating a rotatable disk and has for its object the provision of a single sharpening disk coacting with a support or housing embodying knife guiding slots to give proper bevel to the cutting edges of a knife.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a knife sharpener characterized by an assembly which may be manufactured with minimum labor and material and yet provide a device of long wearing quality.

With the above and other objects in view, as will be apparent, thisinvention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of partsall as hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a knife sharpener embodying the features of this invention.

Fig. -2 is an end view of the same device as it appears from the right hand end of the illustration in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary bottom plan view thereof.

Heretofore there have been knife sharpeners having a support in which was arranged a pair of spaced parallel shafts, one on each side of a knife opening in the support. A sharpening disk or a plurality of sharpening disks have been loosely mounted on each of these shafts to overlap in alignment with the knife opening in the support so that the disks assumed angular positions to the support and during the sharpening operation conjointly formed a sharpening recess, in which both sides of the blade were bevelled simultaneously. Under these conditions, the edge of the blade is frequently made rough and ragged, necessitating a whetting operation thereafter to produce a keen cutting edge.

The present invention contemplates the use of a single sharpening disk and a support therefor having spaced parallel slots defining edges cooperating with circumferentially remote edge portions of the disk to define sharpening recesses for separately bevelling opposite sides 'of the blade passed therethrough. This arrangement prevents the creation of a rough and ragged edge and enables the user to obtain a smooth and keen cutting edge on the blade without subsequent whetting.

Reference being had more particularly to the drawing, ll] designates a housing or support of sheet metal or the like having a narrow elongated top portion ,H and parallel sides l2 of uniform dimension extending downwardly from the longitudinal edges of said top portion H. Flanges i3 extended laterally from the bottom edge of the sides l2 provide a relatively broad fiat bearing surface on the underside of the support l0.

On the transverse edge at one end of a side 6 l2 and at the corresponding edge of the opposite side i2 is an extension, each of which extensions are bent inwardly at right angles to the planes of the sides i2 to form complementary end wall sections it and then bent outwardly in parallel 10 relation to the sides l2, said extensions being abutment with each other to form a composite shank Hi on which a handle l5, of wood or other suitable material, may be mounted. The shank I l, it will be observed, is arranged in upwardly inclined relation to the base of the support It] to locate the handle l5 atan elevation most convenient for the hand of the user.

A sharpening disk It is loosely mounted on a shaft ll having bearing support in transversely aligned openings in the sides 12. The sides l2 are provided with inwardly pressed bosses I8 surrounding the openings forreceivingthe shaft ll so as to create a slightly restricted space between the inner faces of the sides l2coincident with the axis of the disk It, without the use of washers or the like, and yet ample room to permit slight axial and canting movement of the disk It. The opposite side of the bosses l8 form recesses for confining heads l9 formed on' the outer ends of the shaft ll, through which the sides I2 are locked against spreading.

A transverseslot 2i is created in the top H and extends into the sides l2 to provide a recess for receiving and guiding the blade to be sharpened. The slot portion in the top ll is preferably wider than the slot portion in the sides l2, the former merging with the latter through a bevelled portion 30 so as to facilitate ready entry of the knife blade. The slot 2| results in the 40 formation of a pair of transversely aligned edges 22 and 23 in the support III, in overlapping rela tion to a section of the disk edge 20, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The outermost edge 22 and the edge 20 of the disk l9 conjointly define a recess through which a blade may be moved to bevel and grind the side of the blade adjoining the edge 26 of the disk.

"A second slot 24 corresponding to the slot 2| creates aligned edges 25 and 26 in the support I0 in overlapping relation to a section of the disk edge 20 in circumferentially remote relation to the section of the disk overlapped by the edges 22 and 23 aforesaid. The outermost edge 25 and the exposed edge of the disk conjointly define a recess through which a blade may be passed to bevel and grind the side of the blade adjoining the edge 20 of the disk. This arrangement makes it possible to bevel one side of the blade in the recess or slot 2| and to bevel the opposite side of the blade in the slot 24. It will be manifest, however, that by reversing the sharpener after bevelling one side of the blade in either slot 2| or 24, that the opposite side of the blade may be ground in the same slot.

Minor changes, of course, may be made in the details of the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1, A knife sharpener including a support having spaced upright walls, a shaft extending transversely thereof, a sharpening disk loosely mounted on said shaft, a slot in said walls defining a pair of transversely aligned edges in overlapping relation to said disk, one of said edges and the edge of said disk conjointly forming a sharpening recess, and means presenting a surface inwardly of said walls against which said disk is maintained in spaced relation to the inner limits of said Walls while permitting tilting of the disk comprising an inwardly pressed boss in each of said walls,

2. A knife sharpener including a support having spaced upright walls, a shaft extending transversely thereof, a sharpening disk loosely mounted on said shaft, slots in each of said walls defining a pair of transversely aligned edges in overlapping relation to circumferentially remote edges of said disk, the edges of said disk and the outermost of the edges defined by the slots aforesaid conjointly forming sharpening recesses effective to separately bevel opposite sides of a blade passed therethrough, and inwardly extending bosses formed in said walls presenting a surface against which said disk is maintained in spaced relation to the normal plane of the walls aforesaid while permitting slight axial and tilting movement of the disk.

3. A knife sharpener including a support having spaced sides, a shaft having bearing support therein and extending transversely thereof, a sharpening disk loosely mounted on said shaft, heads on the outer ends of the shaft aforesaid through which the sides are locked against spreading, an inwardly pressed boss in each of said sides providing a surface inwardly of said sides against which said disk is adapted to be maintained in spaced relation to the inner limits of said sides and providing a complementary recess in the outer faces of said sides for confining the heads on the shaft aforesaid within the outer limits of the said sides, and a slot in said sides exposing a limited edge portion of said disk, the edges of the sides defined by said slot and the edge of the disk exposed therethrough conjointly forming a sharpening recess.

4. A knife sharpener including a support having spaced sides, a shaft having bearing support therein and extending transversely thereof, a sharpening disk loosely mounted on said shaft, heads on the outer ends of the shaft aforesaid through which the sides are locked against spreading, an inwardly pressed boss in each of said sides providing a surface inwardly of said sides against which said disk is adapted to be maintained in spaced relation to the inner limits of said sides and providing a complementary recess in the outer faces of said sides for confining 7 the heads on the shaft aforesaid within the outer limits of the said sides, a slot in said sides exposing a limited edge portion of said disk, the edges of the sides defined by said slot and the edge of the disk exposed therethrough conjointly forming 3 a sharpening recess, and a slot in said sides spaced from said first slot exposing an edge portion of said disk remote from the edge thereof exposed through said first slot adapted to provide an auxiliary sharpening recess.

MYRON J. ZIMMER. 

